Chapter 68 68
“You must be hungry. I’ll bring you something to eat,” Corinne said, already turning toward the door.
The moment she stepped outside, Sofía heard it the sharp, final click of the lock sliding into place.
Her heart dropped straight into her stomach.
She had seen that monster outside Fernando’s house.
The one lurking in the shadows.
What if… what if Fernando had brought her here to hand her over to that beast?
Her mouth went dry. A violent hiccup tore from her chest, followed by another, her body jerking as sobs clawed their way out of her throat. Her lungs burned as she struggled to breathe through the panic.
Her mind couldn’t hold it all.
The lies. The revelation. The fear.
It felt as though every piece of happiness she had ever held was slipping through her fingers, falling into nothingness, and all she could do was cry as it vanished.
She was too shocked too fractured by everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours to even think of escape. The idea never crossed her mind. Survival itself felt like too much to manage.
The door opened again.
Corinne stepped back inside, balancing a tray of food in her hands. She closed the door behind her and crossed the room, lowering herself to the floor opposite Sofía before setting the plate down in front of her.
“Please eat,” Corinne said gently. “You must be hungry.”
Sofía had already scrubbed the tears from her face. She refused to let them see how weak she felt how shattered she truly was.
She stared at the plate. Steam curled upward from a serving of pasta that looked warm, rich, and delicious.
She felt nothing.
Not hunger. Not desire. Nothing at all.
She shook her head faintly and pushed the plate away. Corinne sighed.
“I know this is hard,” she said softly. “But you need to eat. You’ll need your strength for what’s coming.”
Sofía’s heart skipped painfully. “What… what’s coming?” she asked before she could stop herself.
Corinne hesitated, then spoke carefully.
“You went into heat last night. Female mates go into heat when they don’t mate for a long time. Since you’re human, yours wasn’t as intense. Alpha marked you instead.”
Sofía’s skin went cold.
“Marking means you belong to him now,” Corinne continued, unaware or perhaps unable to care about the devastation her words were causing. “Only him. No other man is allowed to touch you. Wolves are extremely possessive of their mates. Being in heat means you were meant to mate, but the bond protected you last night. Still… it won’t last forever.”
Sofía felt the blood drain from her face.
“You’ll go into heat again,” Corinne finished solemnly. “And next time, you’ll have to mate with Alpha.”
Mate.
As in sex.
Why couldn’t she just say sex? Why did she make it sound so primal—so monstrous?
“N-no…” Sofía shook her head violently.
Corinne’s expression softened, pity flickering in her eyes.
She was so young. So unaware of the world she’d been dragged into.
“Please eat,” Corinne urged. “You’ll need strength.”
Then, as if delivering casual news, she added, “Tomorrow night, Alpha will introduce you to the pack as his Luna.”
Fear sliced straight through Sofía.
“L-Luna?” she stammered. “What are you talking about?”
“Alpha is the king,” Corinne explained simply. “And that makes you his Luna. His queen.”
“I’m not like him,” Sofía whispered, her chin trembling.
“It doesn’t matter,” Corinne replied calmly. “The Moon Goddess chose you for him. So you’re his.”
She said it like she was commenting on the weather.
Like Sofía wasn’t a living, breathing human being.
“I’m not his,” Sofía snapped.
Corinne gasped in horror and leaned closer. “Don’t say that out loud,” she whispered urgently. “He’ll punish you.”
Sofía’s throat closed as memory surged forward his hands, his mouth, the forced kiss at the academy.
“Please,” Corinne tried again, gesturing to the plate. “Eat.”
Sofía didn’t respond. She curled inward, pressing her forehead to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut as if she could lock the world out entirely.
Ten minutes passed.
“Please,” Corinne whispered again. “Just eat something.”
“I said no,” Sofía snapped, jerking her head up
and froze.
He stood behind Corinne.
Silent. Massive. Lethal.
His eyes burned with rage, his fists clenched like he was seconds away from tearing something or someone apart.
If she could have crawled backward through the wall, she would have.
“Leave,” he commanded.
His deep, resonant voice filled the room, sending icy terror racing down Sofía’s spine.
She stared at Corinne with pleading eyes, silently begging her not to go to not leave her alone with him.
Corinne hesitated only a second before giving her a sympathetic look and slipping out the door, closing it firmly behind her.
“Stand up,” he said calmly as he picked up the plate and set it on the bed.
Sofía didn’t move.
She wished she could disappear into the wall behind her.
The man in front of her was a stranger. Nothing like the person she had trusted. Nothing like the man she had fallen for.
A liar.
A traitor.
Someone who had plunged a poison-tipped blade straight through her heart.
“STAND UP!” he roared.
She jolted violently and scrambled to her feet, legs shaking beneath her. Dizziness washed over her, and she had to brace herself against the wall to stay upright.
Her gaze stayed fixed on the tiled floor.
Fernando sat on the edge of the bed, legs spread, posture relaxed and dominant.
“Come here,” he ordered.
Like she was property.
Like a thing.
When she didn’t move, his voice dropped, dark and dangerous. “Come here, doll. I don’t want to hurt you.”
It sounded like a lie wrapped in velvet.
Her hands trembled as she took a hesitant step forward.
Only then did she notice the bandages around her feet wounds from running barefoot through the forest. She also realized she was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.
She limped toward him, fully aware of the threat beneath his calm tone.
She stopped a foot away, keeping distance.
Silence stretched between them.
She could feel his gaze burning into her skin, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She didn’t want him seeing her eyes seeing everything she felt, everything she was. He had always been able to read her too easily.
The thought made her want to laugh.
How foolish she had been.
Falling in love with a man she knew nothing about.
Nothing.
A sharp yelp tore from her when he suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward. She landed on his thigh, eyes wide with horror. She tried to scramble away, but his arms locked around her waist, pulling her close until she had no choice but to brace her hand against his chest to keep space between them.
“Are you going to eat on your own,” he murmured darkly, “or do you want me to feed you, doll?”
His voice sent a shiver through her body one born not just of fear, but of something far more terrifying.
Something she didn’t want to feel at all.